Records tumble at Taunton, Surrey dig in and bowlers suffer at Edgbaston

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: Hampshire continue to put Yorkshire under the cosh, while Paul Coughlin has left Nottinghamshire in a potentially perilous position

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Chelmsford (day two of four): Essex 582-6d, Surrey 109-1 - Surrey are 473 runs behind with nine first-innings wickets remaining

Rory Burns and Ollie Pope retreated into survival mode as Surrey chased an initial target of 433 to make Essex bat again after a chastening day for the reigning champions in the Rothesay County Championship at Chelmsford.

Surrey were still 473 runs adrift of Essex's formidable first-innings total in the 42 overs they faced under lengthening shadows at the end of another warm day. Burns clocked up his 75th first-class fifty in anchoring the Surrey reply after losing opening partner Dom Sibley in the fourth over. At the close the second-wicket pair had put on 101 with Burns 59 not out and Pope unbeaten on 45 in Surrey's 109 for 1

Essex's 582 for 6 included three centuries – not forgetting Paul Walter's 95 – as Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper emulated first-day centurion Jordan Cox. Critchley was left 145 not out, six runs short of his highest first-class score, while Pepper's 109 came off 162 balls during a fifth-wicket stand of 216.

Dan Lawrence was chief toiler as Surrey were kept in the field for 148 overs but had the comfort of taking 3 for 169 from a marathon 35.2 overs – nearly as many as he bowled in any entire season during eight years at Chelmsford before moving to the Oval.

When Surrey responded, Sibley lasted just eight balls before he was trapped plumb on his crease by Sam Cook. It was only the third wicket to fall in the day, and seventh in two days.

It might have been worse for the visitors, but Critchley spoilt an otherwise perfect day on a personal level when had put down a simple chance at short midwicket when Ollie Pope was 10.

Related: "This is the best day I've had in cricket": Tom Banton reflects on record-breaking 344

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Jonny Bairstow celebrates his half-century (John Heald/Yorkshire Cricket)

Southampton (day two of four)Yorkshire 121 & 189-6, Hampshire 249 - Yorkshire are 61 runs ahead with four second-innings wickets remaining

New Yorkshire captain Jonny Bairstow led from the front to rally his side on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash with Hampshire.

Bairstow struck 56 in an innings which mixed good fortune and international-level shot-making, as he and Adam Lyth put on 105  to take the first-innings deficit into a 61-run lead by close.

Lyth ended the day unbeaten on 57, having scored his fifty in a career-slow 176 deliveries, and Brad Wheal took four for 41.

Ben Brown had earlier been left stranded on 49 as George Hill and Jack White both took three wickets each to stem Hampshire's advantage.

If the first day of captain had its struggles, the second was closer to ideal for Bairstow, other than an inside edge into his own groin.

***

Taunton (day two of four): Worcestershire 154Somerset 637-6 - Somerset lead by 483 runs with four first-innings wickets remaining

Tom Banton made history at the Cooper Associates Ground in Taunton as Somerset assumed a position of dominance on day two of the Rothesay County Championship First Division match against Worcestershire.

The 26-year-old batsman made the highest first-class score in the county's history, his 344 surpassing the 342 made by Justin Langer against Surrey at Guildford in 2006. The right hander faced 381 balls, struck 53 fours and a six and batted for just over eight hours. He became only the eighth Somerset player to register a triple century and the first since James Hildreth in 2009.

In a dramatic finale, Banton pulled Kashif Ali to the mid-wicket boundary off the penultimate ball of the day to break the record and make it a day to remember for all Somerset supporters.

On a day when records tumbled, Banton and James Rew staged a mammoth stand of 371 in 86.3 overs as the home side amassed 637 for 6, a substantial first-innings lead of 468. Rew raised 152 from 275 balls, striking 14 fours and two sixes, he and Banton establishing the highest fifth wicket partnership in Somerset history, eclipsing the 320 made by John Francis and Ian Blackwell against Durham UCCE at Taunton in 2005.

Related: John Simpson guides Sussex into ascendancy with straight drives and sharp mind

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Ben Slater drives the ball through the off-side (Mark Dunn)

Edgbaston (day two of four): Sussex 528Warwickshire 223-3 - Warwickshire are 305 runs behind with seven first-innings wickets remaining

Bowlers continue to suffer in the Birmingham sunshine as an opening-round runfest unfolds between Warwickshire and Sussex in the Rothesay County Championship Division One at Edgbaston.

Sussex have returned to the top tier in style by amassing 528 all out after captain John Simpson added a superb unbeaten 181 (262 balls) to Tom Clark's opening day century. Warwickshire's injury-hit attack, led by debutants Ethan Bamber (4 for 105) and Taz Ali (3 for 103), plugged away nobly but found the going tough in good batting conditions.

Sussex's hopes of turning that strong total into a victory were then held up by the home batters, who responded with 223 for 3. Rob Yates closed the second day on 113 (148 balls) after captain Alex Davies launched the reply with an aggressive 66 (65 balls).

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Trent Bridge (day two of four): Durham 378, Nottinghamshire 297-5 - Nottinghamshire are 153 runs behind with five first-innings wickets remaining

A couple of key scalps for seamer Paul Coughlin in the final session left Nottinghamshire with work to do on day two of their Rothesay County Championship match against Durham.

The Sunderland-born 32-year-old, whose had two injury-plagued years at Trent Bridge, bowled key man Joe Clarke (37) and had 19-year-old prospect Freddie McCann (79) caught behind before Nottinghamshire closed the day on 297 for 5 in their first innings in reply to Durham's 378, having also lost Jack Haynes just before the close.

Nottinghamshire had looked well placed at 225 for two after opener Ben had provided a platform with a fine 92, before Coughlin's spell set them back.

Earlier, following a start delayed by 45 minutes after a sprinkler malfunction left pools of water on the outfield, Coughlin had been the last Durham man out as Australian fast bowler Fergus O'Neill completed a debut five-wicket haul.

For spectators present when the bails failed to drop after Durham's Colin Ackermann was bowled on day one, the delay was another freakish occurrence they could have done without under a near-cloudless sky, even if it initially brought amusement.

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